1980s

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0:00:03 > 0:00:04Meet the Robshaws.

0:00:04 > 0:00:06Brandon, Rochelle,

0:00:06 > 0:00:08Miranda, Ros, and Fred.

0:00:11 > 0:00:12Let's go!

0:00:12 > 0:00:15For one summer, this food-loving family is embarking on

0:00:15 > 0:00:18an extraordinary time-travelling adventure,

0:00:18 > 0:00:21to discover how a post-war revolution in what we eat

0:00:21 > 0:00:23has transformed the way we live.

0:00:25 > 0:00:27That is just amazing,

0:00:27 > 0:00:28look at them!

0:00:28 > 0:00:30Britain has gone from meagre rations to ready meals

0:00:30 > 0:00:33at the touch of a button in just 50 years.

0:00:33 > 0:00:34IMITATES POURING

0:00:34 > 0:00:36But how has this changed our health...

0:00:36 > 0:00:38We've got a pull-out larder!

0:00:38 > 0:00:40..our homes, and our family dynamics?

0:00:40 > 0:00:43I can't do it any more. This is what would make a woman break.

0:00:45 > 0:00:48To find out, the Robshaws are going to shop, cook and eat

0:00:48 > 0:00:50their way through history.

0:00:50 > 0:00:51It's 1974!

0:00:52 > 0:00:53Whoa!

0:00:55 > 0:00:57I think that is enough sugar now, though, darling.

0:00:57 > 0:00:59I haven't put hardly any on.

0:00:59 > 0:01:02Starting in 1950, their own home will be their time machine.

0:01:02 > 0:01:04- Oh, my goodness!- Oh, wow!

0:01:04 > 0:01:05ALL: Oh!

0:01:05 > 0:01:07This carpet hurts my eyes.

0:01:07 > 0:01:08Who designed that?

0:01:08 > 0:01:10Someone who's colour-blind.

0:01:10 > 0:01:13Fast forwarding them through a new year every day,

0:01:13 > 0:01:15as they experience, first hand,

0:01:15 > 0:01:19the culinary fads, fashions and gadgets of each age.

0:01:19 > 0:01:20DEVICE HISSES

0:01:20 > 0:01:21LAUGHTER

0:01:21 > 0:01:23- Catch.- Whoa!

0:01:23 > 0:01:27After four weeks of time travel through the austere '50s,

0:01:27 > 0:01:29the swinging '60s

0:01:29 > 0:01:30and the tasteless '70s...

0:01:30 > 0:01:32Eurgh! It smells like fish food.

0:01:32 > 0:01:34..the family is upping the pace...

0:01:34 > 0:01:35LAUGHTER

0:01:35 > 0:01:38..in the era when technological advances

0:01:38 > 0:01:40delivered food faster than ever -

0:01:40 > 0:01:42the 1980s.

0:01:42 > 0:01:44- Wow, my goodness.- Look at that.

0:01:44 > 0:01:47As they discover how our changing relationship with food

0:01:47 > 0:01:50has shaped all of our lives.

0:01:50 > 0:01:52Everyone's eating something different

0:01:52 > 0:01:54and we're no longer eating together.

0:01:54 > 0:01:56And the microwave is doing it.

0:02:09 > 0:02:11A new decade, and a new makeover for the Robshaws.

0:02:13 > 0:02:16It's goodbye to the garish '70s

0:02:16 > 0:02:19and hello to the gadget-rich, family home of the 1980s.

0:02:21 > 0:02:23The kitchen has opened up

0:02:23 > 0:02:26and it's filled with more cooking appliances than ever before.

0:02:28 > 0:02:31Food historian Dr Polly Russell and I are back

0:02:31 > 0:02:34to see what this decade will unleash on the Robshaws.

0:02:37 > 0:02:39Wow, so bright.

0:02:39 > 0:02:41The wallpaper, I mean,

0:02:41 > 0:02:43nostalgic and also grizzly.

0:02:43 > 0:02:44It is. It's hideous.

0:02:44 > 0:02:47And a red plastic table, which you look at it and you think,

0:02:47 > 0:02:50"That's office furniture," but it's definitely the stuff we had

0:02:50 > 0:02:52in our house, and we were very tasteful.

0:02:52 > 0:02:54It's very, sort of, power suit, isn't it?

0:02:54 > 0:02:55Nature is out of this space

0:02:55 > 0:02:58and it's all about display, isn't it?

0:02:58 > 0:03:01'In pride of place is a kitchen newcomer

0:03:01 > 0:03:04'that sums up the 1980s' drive for speed and efficiency.'

0:03:04 > 0:03:06I'd forgotten microwaves used to look like that.

0:03:06 > 0:03:09When this arrived, people threw out their ovens and put them in.

0:03:09 > 0:03:12It was supposed to be a sort of revolution in home cooking.

0:03:12 > 0:03:15You were going to be using this as your main way of cooking,

0:03:15 > 0:03:16that was what was thought.

0:03:16 > 0:03:19And when I was a kid, we didn't have one, until quite late.

0:03:19 > 0:03:21And I thought we were really behind and I was like,

0:03:21 > 0:03:24"Mum, Mum, we've got to get one of these."

0:03:25 > 0:03:28'Only 6% of homes had a microwave in 1980,

0:03:28 > 0:03:31'but by the end of the decade, half of us had one.

0:03:31 > 0:03:33'Consumer programmes fell over themselves to offer advice

0:03:33 > 0:03:36'on how best to use this newfangled appliance.'

0:03:36 > 0:03:38The question we're asking this week

0:03:38 > 0:03:41is whether a microwave is worth buying at all.

0:03:41 > 0:03:45Now that depends on which foods it cooks well, and which not so well.

0:03:48 > 0:03:51'The traditional cooker got an '80s update, too.'

0:03:51 > 0:03:54- That's some sort of ceramic hob. - Yes, ceramic hob.

0:03:54 > 0:03:57But looked good, and you could touch up your make-up in the reflection,

0:03:57 > 0:03:59if you kept it clean, which was one of its added advantages.

0:03:59 > 0:04:01Your massive eyeliner in the '80s!

0:04:01 > 0:04:04For the first time, extractor fans come in, too.

0:04:04 > 0:04:05Was it really the first time?

0:04:05 > 0:04:07Yeah, and it makes the kitchen a space

0:04:07 > 0:04:09much more that you can hang out.

0:04:09 > 0:04:10This is where people were starting

0:04:10 > 0:04:12to spend most of their time, as a family.

0:04:12 > 0:04:15No, well, I mean, not everything about the '80s was bad.

0:04:15 > 0:04:17But they had some things right about design.

0:04:17 > 0:04:20'80s definitely laid the ground rules for kitchens today.

0:04:22 > 0:04:24'Previously, I've given the family

0:04:24 > 0:04:26'an overview of the decade face-to-face.

0:04:26 > 0:04:28'But this time, the newly invented Post-it Note

0:04:28 > 0:04:30'can do the job for me.'

0:04:31 > 0:04:32"You know the drill.

0:04:34 > 0:04:35"Good luck."

0:04:41 > 0:04:44Although things would improve for many over the decade,

0:04:44 > 0:04:47in 1980, Britain was in poor economic shape.

0:04:47 > 0:04:49APPLAUSE

0:04:49 > 0:04:51New Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

0:04:51 > 0:04:53had increased interest rates and slashed public spending

0:04:53 > 0:04:57in an attempt to bring the country's 20% inflation rate under control.

0:04:59 > 0:05:02The lady's not for turning.

0:05:02 > 0:05:04LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

0:05:04 > 0:05:06Her policies were controversial.

0:05:06 > 0:05:08Maggy, Maggy, Maggy!

0:05:08 > 0:05:09ALL: Out! Out! Out!

0:05:09 > 0:05:12Traditional heavy industries struggled

0:05:12 > 0:05:14and unemployment soared across the country.

0:05:17 > 0:05:19Despite the '80s' uncertain beginnings,

0:05:19 > 0:05:22Brandon and Rochelle are stepping back into a decade

0:05:22 > 0:05:23they remember fondly.

0:05:23 > 0:05:25I'm looking forward to going back into the '80s,

0:05:25 > 0:05:27reliving those years when I was a young adult.

0:05:27 > 0:05:30I think the '80s is when it all opens out

0:05:30 > 0:05:32and the food starts to become more varied.

0:05:32 > 0:05:35It felt like a fairly glitzy time with lots of glamour

0:05:35 > 0:05:36and big hair, glossy lipstick.

0:05:36 > 0:05:39If it looks like, sort of, a Dallas-style palace,

0:05:39 > 0:05:41I think I'll be quite pleased.

0:05:44 > 0:05:45Oh, goodness!

0:05:45 > 0:05:47THEY LAUGH

0:05:47 > 0:05:48Oh, wow!

0:05:50 > 0:05:51Staggered.

0:05:51 > 0:05:52What do you think of the telly?

0:05:52 > 0:05:54- We've got a remote. - It's got a remote!

0:05:54 > 0:05:56So now, for the first time,

0:05:56 > 0:05:58you can change the channel without getting up.

0:05:58 > 0:06:02I have to say, that I really don't like it.

0:06:02 > 0:06:06It's all about getting your things out and putting them on show.

0:06:06 > 0:06:09- I think it's a great room...- Yeah.

0:06:09 > 0:06:11- ..for a party.- Ah!

0:06:11 > 0:06:13Well, we're not having a party, so...

0:06:13 > 0:06:14You never know.

0:06:15 > 0:06:17THEY GASP

0:06:18 > 0:06:21Oh, wow! That's beautiful.

0:06:21 > 0:06:22- LAUGHTER - Do you think so?!

0:06:22 > 0:06:25I love it, yeah. Look at this beautiful table.

0:06:25 > 0:06:27We have a microwave!

0:06:27 > 0:06:30Where? Oh, yes.

0:06:30 > 0:06:32My goodness.

0:06:32 > 0:06:34That's like the size of a house.

0:06:34 > 0:06:36LAUGHTER

0:06:36 > 0:06:39Oh, look, what have we got here, everybody?

0:06:39 > 0:06:41Could it be a toasted sandwich machine?

0:06:41 > 0:06:43I love them.

0:06:43 > 0:06:45Now, see, this was an innovation of the '80s,

0:06:45 > 0:06:47people were eating toasted sandwiches all the time.

0:06:47 > 0:06:49Somebody that I was at university with,

0:06:49 > 0:06:52he had one of these up in his room and he cooked a rabbit on it.

0:06:52 > 0:06:55Oh, for goodness' sake! What, in a sandwich?

0:06:55 > 0:06:58No, just the rabbit, I don't know if he put it in a sandwich afterwards.

0:06:58 > 0:07:01- It was dead, yeah?- Yeah, of course it was dead!

0:07:01 > 0:07:04See, this is what was called a Filofax,

0:07:04 > 0:07:07and the bigger your Filofax, the more important you were.

0:07:07 > 0:07:09- So, if you had a little baby one... - Nobody would be impressed by that.

0:07:09 > 0:07:12So, has he just left a note, then, Giles?

0:07:12 > 0:07:14It must be Giles, "You know the drill, good luck."

0:07:14 > 0:07:18- Oh, that's nice.- Oh, right, so Giles is too busy even to hang around(?)

0:07:18 > 0:07:20He doesn't hang about.

0:07:20 > 0:07:23"Rochelle, you'll now be working full time,

0:07:23 > 0:07:26"which means that there's less time to prepare family meals.

0:07:26 > 0:07:29"But the new technological developments at your disposal

0:07:29 > 0:07:32"should help reduce the time you spend in the kitchen."

0:07:34 > 0:07:37As in previous decades, the food the Robshaws will be eating

0:07:37 > 0:07:39will be guided by the National Food Survey,

0:07:39 > 0:07:42in which thousands of families recorded what they ate

0:07:42 > 0:07:44for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

0:07:44 > 0:07:48# Gotta make a move to a town that's right for me. #

0:07:48 > 0:07:50Tonight, Rochelle and Miranda are recreating a dinner

0:07:50 > 0:07:53enjoyed by a Kidderminster family of four,

0:07:53 > 0:07:54in November 1980.

0:07:58 > 0:08:00"Roast chicken, potatoes,

0:08:00 > 0:08:03"vegetables, jam sponge cake."

0:08:03 > 0:08:05An explosion of microwave cookbooks

0:08:05 > 0:08:09encouraged you to cook absolutely everything in it.

0:08:09 > 0:08:11So the Robshaws are doing just that.

0:08:11 > 0:08:14Surely, you can't put a whole chicken in it?!

0:08:16 > 0:08:18It weighs 3.5lbs.

0:08:18 > 0:08:21So, it's ten minutes per pound.

0:08:21 > 0:08:24Oh, my God, that's so fast!

0:08:24 > 0:08:26Have we got a roasting bag?

0:08:26 > 0:08:27Can we put foil on it?

0:08:29 > 0:08:31No! Oh, my God, are you joking?!

0:08:31 > 0:08:33- Yes.- Good.

0:08:33 > 0:08:34Right.

0:08:34 > 0:08:36Cooked in a plastic roasting bag,

0:08:36 > 0:08:39their chicken should be ready in 35 minutes,

0:08:39 > 0:08:42less than half the time a conventional oven would take.

0:08:42 > 0:08:46It says here that, "Always keep the door seal and door surfaces clean.

0:08:46 > 0:08:49"Grease, soil or splatters could result in a leakage

0:08:49 > 0:08:51"of microwave energy from the oven."

0:08:53 > 0:08:56At a time when the fear of nuclear war hung in the air,

0:08:56 > 0:08:59a TV documentary terrified new microwave users

0:08:59 > 0:09:02by suggesting the machines could pose a radiation risk.

0:09:05 > 0:09:08'Testing showed that whilst the new ovens leak negligible amounts,

0:09:08 > 0:09:11'those that have been in continuous use leaked varying amounts

0:09:11 > 0:09:13'up to and above the safety levels.'

0:09:15 > 0:09:18Many cautious microwave owners bought domestic Geiger counters

0:09:18 > 0:09:19to check for leaks.

0:09:21 > 0:09:23MICROWAVE BEEPS

0:09:23 > 0:09:25Do we have to move it along the seals?

0:09:27 > 0:09:29Oh, my God! Look, did you see that?

0:09:29 > 0:09:30It went right up to high!

0:09:30 > 0:09:32MIRANDA GASPS

0:09:32 > 0:09:33Wait, do it again, do it again. Go up.

0:09:33 > 0:09:35See? Look.

0:09:35 > 0:09:37MICROWAVE BEEPS

0:09:37 > 0:09:38It went right up to danger.

0:09:38 > 0:09:41There must be a bit of grease or something.

0:09:41 > 0:09:43All right, if you've taken away radiation,

0:09:43 > 0:09:46be careful of that kitchen paper, kitchen roll.

0:09:46 > 0:09:47It's all on there.

0:09:47 > 0:09:49SHE LAUGHS

0:09:49 > 0:09:52In fact, the levels of radiation were so low

0:09:52 > 0:09:54that they were later proved to be totally harmless.

0:09:54 > 0:09:56- OK, now shut this.- Yeah, and then...

0:09:56 > 0:09:58But making a 1980s roast dinner in the microwave

0:09:58 > 0:10:01did present some very real problems.

0:10:01 > 0:10:03- Do you know what's difficult about this?- Yeah?

0:10:03 > 0:10:06It's getting everything done at the same time.

0:10:06 > 0:10:07Yeah.

0:10:07 > 0:10:11It's strange, isn't it? I reckon that you would probably, like,

0:10:11 > 0:10:13if you wanted to roast the chicken quickly in the microwave,

0:10:13 > 0:10:16you might just cook the vegetables on the hob.

0:10:16 > 0:10:17I know, I know.

0:10:17 > 0:10:20- It's got to be one thing in and one thing out, hasn't it?- Yeah.

0:10:20 > 0:10:24So it hasn't really saved us any time, has it?

0:10:24 > 0:10:26The Robshaws' speedy chicken dinner

0:10:26 > 0:10:29has taken two-and-a-half hours to prepare.

0:10:29 > 0:10:31And following the advice of the time,

0:10:31 > 0:10:34they've resorted to a generous spreading of Marmite

0:10:34 > 0:10:36to give it that just roasted look.

0:10:38 > 0:10:41I'm really fed up, two-and-a-half hours

0:10:41 > 0:10:43with very, very little to show for it,

0:10:43 > 0:10:46except a chicken that's been covered with Marmite.

0:10:46 > 0:10:48It doesn't even look attractive.

0:10:48 > 0:10:50What is this?!

0:10:51 > 0:10:53There's a bit of clingfilm.

0:10:53 > 0:10:55You don't normally get that on a roast chicken, do you?

0:10:55 > 0:10:57Thank you very much.

0:10:57 > 0:10:59I'm sorry it only took two-and-a-half hours.

0:10:59 > 0:11:01Thanks, ladies.

0:11:01 > 0:11:04Well, the hungrier we are, the more we enjoy it.

0:11:04 > 0:11:05- FRED:- It's not cooked.

0:11:05 > 0:11:07ROS: It's really not!

0:11:07 > 0:11:09Let's do this.

0:11:09 > 0:11:11CRUNCH

0:11:11 > 0:11:13I did not enjoy that cooking experience.

0:11:13 > 0:11:15I don't know how many people would try to cook

0:11:15 > 0:11:18a whole meal in the microwave, like that.

0:11:18 > 0:11:22But do you think people just thought we've got a microwave, we're going to use it?

0:11:22 > 0:11:24I'd NEVER do it again.

0:11:24 > 0:11:26# Under pressure. #

0:11:26 > 0:11:28'Let's start with the microwaves.'

0:11:28 > 0:11:30It's funny how the '80s ones can cook a chicken perfectly,

0:11:30 > 0:11:33but vegetables, they just don't even touch.

0:11:33 > 0:11:34It's like me.

0:11:41 > 0:11:42It's a new day,

0:11:42 > 0:11:45which means a new year for the time travelling Robshaws.

0:11:46 > 0:11:48Who's tea is that on there?

0:11:48 > 0:11:50- Mine, I'm not...- Why don't you drink it, then?

0:11:50 > 0:11:52Why don't...? Cos I'm doing a Rubik's cube.

0:11:52 > 0:11:55Cos you're not allowed to wear make-up in school.

0:11:55 > 0:11:56Well, I don't care.

0:11:56 > 0:11:58I'm a sassy rebel.

0:11:58 > 0:12:00"I'm a sassy rebel."

0:12:00 > 0:12:02LAUGHTER

0:12:02 > 0:12:05Kids, do you want to come in for breakfast?

0:12:05 > 0:12:07As Brandon and Rochelle are now working full time,

0:12:07 > 0:12:11I sent a classic, early '80s gift to speed up their morning routine.

0:12:11 > 0:12:14A 19... Oh.

0:12:14 > 0:12:16A 1981 coffee cup.

0:12:16 > 0:12:17Do you know who it is?

0:12:17 > 0:12:18- FRED:- Queen Victoria.

0:12:18 > 0:12:20And who else with her?

0:12:20 > 0:12:22Jonathan.

0:12:22 > 0:12:24Yes, Jonathan and Victoria on the mug(!)

0:12:24 > 0:12:26LAUGHTER

0:12:26 > 0:12:27And here it comes.

0:12:27 > 0:12:30- MIRANDA:- That's so cool.

0:12:30 > 0:12:33Filter coffee machines were the must-have kitchen gadgets

0:12:33 > 0:12:34of the early 1980s.

0:12:34 > 0:12:38Nearly a million flew off the shelves in 1981 alone...

0:12:38 > 0:12:40Do you think this is right?

0:12:40 > 0:12:42..as people switched from instant to real coffee.

0:12:44 > 0:12:46Are you putting the sugar inside?

0:12:46 > 0:12:48Roselyn! Roselyn, don't do that.

0:12:48 > 0:12:50I've never seen that before.

0:12:50 > 0:12:52- LAUGHING - Please, don't do that.

0:12:52 > 0:12:54- I think it's a really good idea. - You just can't face change!

0:12:54 > 0:12:57- Roselyn!- I think that is enough sugar now, though, darling.

0:12:57 > 0:12:59No, I haven't put hardly any on.

0:13:00 > 0:13:02It wasn't just at breakfast time that parents struggled

0:13:02 > 0:13:04to ensure their children ate healthily.

0:13:08 > 0:13:10In 1980, the government's Education Act

0:13:10 > 0:13:13abolished minimum nutritional standards for school dinners,

0:13:13 > 0:13:17and allowed private contractors to take over school kitchens.

0:13:17 > 0:13:20On average, the price of a school lunch surged by 40%

0:13:20 > 0:13:23and the number of children taking a packed lunch to school doubled.

0:13:25 > 0:13:28For busy parents, it meant preparing another meal each day.

0:13:31 > 0:13:33Wait! Wait, that's not helping!

0:13:33 > 0:13:34That's not helping.

0:13:34 > 0:13:37You know it's just gone 20 past? They've got about eight minutes.

0:13:37 > 0:13:39Thanks.

0:13:39 > 0:13:40The clock is ticking.

0:13:41 > 0:13:44I would prefer the children to have a school dinner,

0:13:44 > 0:13:46cos that way I could just get straight out to work

0:13:46 > 0:13:48without having the added, sort of, worry about

0:13:48 > 0:13:51what I'm actually putting in their packed lunch.

0:13:51 > 0:13:53Erm, is there a Penguin in there?

0:13:54 > 0:13:55No, there's a parrot(!)

0:13:56 > 0:14:00Chocolate biscuit sales increased by 35% over the decade,

0:14:00 > 0:14:02and National Food Survey shopping lists

0:14:02 > 0:14:04show a plethora of unhealthy treats,

0:14:04 > 0:14:05like this one from a family in Dorset.

0:14:08 > 0:14:09"Milky Ways,

0:14:09 > 0:14:10"Twix bars,

0:14:10 > 0:14:12"Club biscuits."

0:14:16 > 0:14:19In 1981, nearly two thirds of married woman worked,

0:14:19 > 0:14:22and Rochelle is no exception.

0:14:22 > 0:14:24Places to go and people to see, she'll be delighted

0:14:24 > 0:14:27by the latest lunchtime innovation -

0:14:27 > 0:14:29the pre-packed sandwich.

0:14:33 > 0:14:35'I've come to a Marks & Spencer's factory

0:14:35 > 0:14:38'to discover how a humble salmon and tomato sandwich

0:14:38 > 0:14:40'spawned a £6 billion industry,

0:14:40 > 0:14:43'and transformed lunchtime forever.'

0:14:43 > 0:14:44Can I just test it?

0:14:44 > 0:14:46So this is not a filling that you have any more, at all?

0:14:46 > 0:14:48No, unfortunately, salmon and tomato's bitten the dust,

0:14:48 > 0:14:51but that was the first sandwich.

0:14:51 > 0:14:53And story has it, that a store manager

0:14:53 > 0:14:55took some cafe sandwiches,

0:14:55 > 0:14:59wrapped them, took them down into the food hall, customers loved them.

0:14:59 > 0:15:02There began the pre-packed sandwich.

0:15:02 > 0:15:06And from that day growth of the sandwich, the pre-packed sandwich,

0:15:06 > 0:15:07was phenomenal.

0:15:07 > 0:15:11By 1984, we had four factories making sandwiches.

0:15:11 > 0:15:14We now sell 92.5 million sandwiches a year.

0:15:14 > 0:15:16- Just by accident. - Almost by accident.

0:15:16 > 0:15:18Look at that!

0:15:18 > 0:15:20I mean, that is just really quite something of a sandwich.

0:15:20 > 0:15:23- It's amazing. - That is a superb 1980s sandwich.

0:15:23 > 0:15:25I think this sandwich would stand up in any era!

0:15:25 > 0:15:27Do you think the way people lived changed

0:15:27 > 0:15:30because the sandwich was invented, or was the sandwich invented

0:15:30 > 0:15:32to facilitate the way that they had changed anyway?

0:15:32 > 0:15:34I guess it's the chicken and egg story, but...

0:15:34 > 0:15:36Chicken and egg, there's a good sandwich -

0:15:36 > 0:15:38- do you have one of those? - Egg... Egg mayonnaise.

0:15:38 > 0:15:41Certainly the pre-packed sandwiches for lunch

0:15:41 > 0:15:43revolutionised people's lunch hours.

0:15:43 > 0:15:46Like all 1980s food innovations,

0:15:46 > 0:15:48the packeted sandwich was a double-edged sword.

0:15:48 > 0:15:50On the one hand it gave people more freedom,

0:15:50 > 0:15:52they didn't have to go home to have their lunch,

0:15:52 > 0:15:54they didn't have to waste time in the morning

0:15:54 > 0:15:56packing their food for themselves.

0:15:56 > 0:15:58On the other hand, it did chain them to their desks,

0:15:58 > 0:16:01it did contribute to the breakdown of the whole idea of a lunch break,

0:16:01 > 0:16:03it de-socialised the lunch,

0:16:03 > 0:16:04and it made the office much more of a prison.

0:16:04 > 0:16:07So, I don't really know which way Rochelle's going to take it.

0:16:07 > 0:16:10# Working nine to five

0:16:10 > 0:16:13# What a way to make a living

0:16:13 > 0:16:14# Barely gettin' by... #

0:16:14 > 0:16:17Rochelle, this was at reception.

0:16:17 > 0:16:19Oh, wow!

0:16:19 > 0:16:21Thank you very much, thanks. Thank you.

0:16:23 > 0:16:26- Ooh! It's lunch. - Oh, that sounds exciting.

0:16:26 > 0:16:30"Let me know if you think it'll take off...

0:16:30 > 0:16:31"It's still novel."

0:16:31 > 0:16:32- Giles.- Excellent.

0:16:32 > 0:16:34Are you going to share this lunch?

0:16:34 > 0:16:37- I am going to share this lunch. - Lovely, I look forward to it.

0:16:37 > 0:16:39Unless it's really nice, then I might eat it myself!

0:16:41 > 0:16:43Look.

0:16:43 > 0:16:45Sandwiches, lovely.

0:16:45 > 0:16:48In a box, look at that.

0:16:48 > 0:16:50That's the original one.

0:16:50 > 0:16:54And the prawn mayo is 1981's bestseller.

0:16:54 > 0:16:57Isn't it amazing, though, to think that that...

0:16:57 > 0:17:01was novel, to get a sandwich in a package?

0:17:01 > 0:17:04Mm. Very much the working woman, isn't it?

0:17:04 > 0:17:06Grabbing a sandwich on the way into work.

0:17:06 > 0:17:09Yeah. It's nice to have something made.

0:17:09 > 0:17:13But this innocent packaged sandwich

0:17:13 > 0:17:16didn't know what it was going to bring in, did it?

0:17:18 > 0:17:21In 1981, the average lunch break was an hour long -

0:17:21 > 0:17:23today it's only 29 minutes.

0:17:25 > 0:17:28MUSIC: The Reflex by Duran Duran

0:17:32 > 0:17:38It's 1982, and Fred is embracing the latest craze to hit British shores.

0:17:38 > 0:17:42# I tell you somebody's fooling around

0:17:42 > 0:17:46# With my chances on the danger line

0:17:46 > 0:17:48# I'll cross that bridge... #

0:17:48 > 0:17:50In the early '80s, children played outside

0:17:50 > 0:17:54for more than two hours a day - double the amount they do today.

0:17:54 > 0:17:55Look at my skills!

0:17:57 > 0:18:00I've sent some new gadgets that were making an impact indoors, as well.

0:18:00 > 0:18:02There's this.

0:18:02 > 0:18:04What is that?

0:18:04 > 0:18:06The arrival of a VCR

0:18:06 > 0:18:09means the Robshaws are joining the lucky 13% of households

0:18:09 > 0:18:13who can record TV programmes to watch when they want.

0:18:13 > 0:18:17- There's something else as well. A SodaStream.- Ooh!

0:18:17 > 0:18:19Cool!

0:18:19 > 0:18:22This is so cool - how does it work?

0:18:24 > 0:18:26IT HISSES

0:18:26 > 0:18:27THEY LAUGH

0:18:28 > 0:18:31Soda streams injected sparkle into the kitchen,

0:18:31 > 0:18:33showing food could be fun.

0:18:36 > 0:18:39MUSIC: Girls Just Want To Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper

0:18:39 > 0:18:40With Brandon and Rochelle at work,

0:18:40 > 0:18:43the girls are inviting friends round for a video party.

0:18:43 > 0:18:45Again! Yeah.

0:18:47 > 0:18:50Wow, we did it! You can hear the bubbles.

0:18:50 > 0:18:52You CAN hear the bubbles.

0:18:52 > 0:18:53- I don't know, can you?- Yeah!

0:18:55 > 0:18:58Their party menu is inspired by National Food Survey entries

0:18:58 > 0:18:59of the time.

0:18:59 > 0:19:02- OK, we're going to make toasted sandwiches...- Yes!

0:19:02 > 0:19:05..oven chips, popcorn.

0:19:05 > 0:19:07This is going to be so good.

0:19:08 > 0:19:11This is going to be the best party ever.

0:19:11 > 0:19:13We haven't done chips yet.

0:19:13 > 0:19:17No, Mum made chips cooked in lard, but we only got eight each.

0:19:17 > 0:19:20- No, eight altogether. - Eight altogether!

0:19:20 > 0:19:21THEY LAUGH

0:19:21 > 0:19:22So, they were quite grim,

0:19:22 > 0:19:25they didn't taste very nice, and they were a lot of hard work.

0:19:25 > 0:19:27Introduced in 1979,

0:19:27 > 0:19:31oven chips helped to cut the number of domestic chip pan fires in half

0:19:31 > 0:19:33in only ten years.

0:19:33 > 0:19:35And today they make up three quarters of all the chips

0:19:35 > 0:19:36we cook at home.

0:19:36 > 0:19:38Considering what we've been eating,

0:19:38 > 0:19:40- this is quite fashionable food. - Yeah.

0:19:40 > 0:19:42And it's all food that you need special equipment to make.

0:19:42 > 0:19:45This is like Fred's heaven in here.

0:19:45 > 0:19:46It's got a toasty machine.

0:19:46 > 0:19:50- SodaStream.- It's got a SodaStream, it's got everything he wants.

0:19:50 > 0:19:52- He could live here. - Yeah, but it's so easy, as well.

0:19:52 > 0:19:55I guess - does that mean we're losing the art of cookery?

0:19:56 > 0:19:58Oh...

0:19:58 > 0:19:59Yeah, I guess so.

0:19:59 > 0:20:02They look good.

0:20:03 > 0:20:05Rochelle will get home from work too late

0:20:05 > 0:20:08to have any say about the food the girls are making.

0:20:09 > 0:20:11I can see, now, at this point,

0:20:11 > 0:20:14how having more gadgets and processed food,

0:20:14 > 0:20:18and the microwave, is actually helping me.

0:20:18 > 0:20:23You know, whether it provides the good enough food within the home

0:20:23 > 0:20:25is probably not the case,

0:20:25 > 0:20:29but it's certainly enabling me to have a life outside of the home.

0:20:31 > 0:20:33Back home, the girls are serving up '80s treats

0:20:33 > 0:20:35and entertainment to their guests.

0:20:35 > 0:20:37The interesting thing is that we needed loads

0:20:37 > 0:20:41and loads of gadgets to make all this food.

0:20:41 > 0:20:42- Do you like the presentation?- Mm!

0:20:42 > 0:20:45I think it's great. I love this.

0:20:45 > 0:20:47I think, in the '80s, it's a lot more about showing off.

0:20:47 > 0:20:50A lot less practicality and a lot more show.

0:20:50 > 0:20:51A bit like the hair.

0:20:51 > 0:20:53THEY LAUGH

0:20:53 > 0:20:55Would you like a toasty?

0:20:55 > 0:20:57The cheese is quite bright orange!

0:20:57 > 0:21:00That's the '80s for you, everything is bright orange.

0:21:00 > 0:21:05But this 1982 party is about to get a lot more stylish.

0:21:05 > 0:21:10'The spectacular ice cream dessert, called Viennetta.'

0:21:11 > 0:21:16Before 1982, ice cream usually came in simple blocks, or tubs.

0:21:16 > 0:21:19Viennetta changed all that.

0:21:19 > 0:21:23This was convenience food at its most sophisticated.

0:21:23 > 0:21:27'Wall's Viennetta - one slice is never enough.'

0:21:27 > 0:21:30Nobody could do that.

0:21:30 > 0:21:35So, I guess, before it became kind of old-fashioned...

0:21:35 > 0:21:39it must have been, like, a really cool thing.

0:21:39 > 0:21:44Oh, my goodness me! Wow. That looks really nice.

0:21:44 > 0:21:45Mm!

0:21:45 > 0:21:48- Have you got a Viennetta there? - Yeah.

0:21:48 > 0:21:50- And what are you watching? - Top Of The Pops.

0:21:50 > 0:21:52- # Give me back my heart... # - Who's on it?

0:21:52 > 0:21:54We don't really know. THEY LAUGH

0:21:54 > 0:21:57Who are these people? Do you think they're brother and sister?

0:21:57 > 0:21:58# Give me back my heart... #

0:21:58 > 0:22:01Their hair says yes, but their face says no.

0:22:01 > 0:22:02LAUGHTER

0:22:02 > 0:22:05- I think the Viennetta should have stayed in the freezer...- Yeah.

0:22:05 > 0:22:06..cos I think that's dinner party food.

0:22:06 > 0:22:08Yeah, actually, we should tell them off about that.

0:22:08 > 0:22:11Yeah, that's like, sort of, breaking into the sherry.

0:22:11 > 0:22:13HE CHUCKLES

0:22:13 > 0:22:16I wish I'd been home earlier to make them something healthier.

0:22:16 > 0:22:19You've got a job, I've got a job.

0:22:19 > 0:22:22Why are you the one feeling guilty and not me?

0:22:22 > 0:22:23That's the way it goes.

0:22:23 > 0:22:26- Is this, like, food that we would eat all the time, or...?- Mm.

0:22:26 > 0:22:28There's nothing green apart from the sweets,

0:22:28 > 0:22:30and I don't think they count. LAUGHTER

0:22:30 > 0:22:32- Yeah, I don't feel very well.- No.

0:22:34 > 0:22:38It was nice just to be able to use the kitchen more freely.

0:22:38 > 0:22:42The food we made did feel, kind of, like fairly cutting edge, actually.

0:22:42 > 0:22:46I just think it was cos we had to use so many gadgets to make it.

0:22:49 > 0:22:51MUSIC: Let's Dance by David Bowie

0:22:53 > 0:22:56It's 1983, and Britons are waking up to the fact

0:22:56 > 0:23:00that the '80s diet and lifestyle might not be terribly healthy.

0:23:01 > 0:23:04Wake up, shape up.

0:23:04 > 0:23:06It's...the Green Goddess.

0:23:06 > 0:23:08Let's get Britain fit.

0:23:08 > 0:23:11Anybody else who'd like to join us, do come and take...

0:23:11 > 0:23:12Can we do it?

0:23:12 > 0:23:16Although only 7% of the population was obese in 1983,

0:23:16 > 0:23:17compared to 24% today,

0:23:17 > 0:23:21Britain's health and waistline was a national talking point.

0:23:21 > 0:23:24Two, one...

0:23:24 > 0:23:25Oh!

0:23:25 > 0:23:26Are you all right?

0:23:26 > 0:23:28Ow!

0:23:28 > 0:23:32Everyone make sure they've got plenty of room.

0:23:32 > 0:23:36Exercise was only one weapon in the battle to shift Britain's bulge -

0:23:36 > 0:23:39dieting was a national obsession.

0:23:39 > 0:23:412.50, please, Eddie.

0:23:41 > 0:23:43- Chris, you know you're not supposed to have beer, don't you?- Yes.

0:23:43 > 0:23:47Don't think next week that you can do the same for two weeks, you know?

0:23:47 > 0:23:51You can't. You've had your holiday, forget it.

0:23:51 > 0:23:54The Robshaws have got their own taskmaster to inspire them.

0:23:54 > 0:23:56- Hello, everybody.- Hi, Polly.

0:23:56 > 0:23:58Oh, welcome to the '80s.

0:23:58 > 0:24:04So, this decade is where health, exercise and dieting take off.

0:24:04 > 0:24:08And so, today, we're going to be splitting you into two teams.

0:24:08 > 0:24:12One team is going to be eating the grapefruit diet.

0:24:12 > 0:24:17The other team is going to be eating the F-Plan diet.

0:24:17 > 0:24:19MUSIC: Fashion by David Bowie

0:24:19 > 0:24:23The grapefruit diet advocated a low-calorie, high-protein approach,

0:24:23 > 0:24:25plus half a grapefruit with each meal

0:24:25 > 0:24:28which would, allegedly, help burn off the pounds.

0:24:30 > 0:24:35The bestselling F-Plan endorsed a diet low in fat and high in fibre.

0:24:35 > 0:24:40I just think diets became, sort of, so popular at this point.

0:24:40 > 0:24:43It's this decade of contrasts, really,

0:24:43 > 0:24:45where people are eating more convenience foods

0:24:45 > 0:24:48and doing less exercise, and are putting on more weight.

0:24:48 > 0:24:51On the other hand, people are really obsessing about diets.

0:24:51 > 0:24:54In the teenage magazines there's almost, like, an assumption

0:24:54 > 0:24:55that you're going to be slimming.

0:24:55 > 0:24:59In this period what you see is a real, sort of, explosion

0:24:59 > 0:25:02of the dieting, exercise, and health industries,

0:25:02 > 0:25:05because the publishing diet industry explodes during this time.

0:25:05 > 0:25:09Slimming clubs, slimming magazines - ten titles during the '80s.

0:25:09 > 0:25:12About 24 bestseller titles for diets.

0:25:12 > 0:25:15So, there's a kind of explosion of the industry,

0:25:15 > 0:25:18fuelling concerns about diet and health.

0:25:18 > 0:25:21MUSIC: I Can't Wait by Nu Shooz

0:25:21 > 0:25:23By 1983, Britain's diet industry

0:25:23 > 0:25:26was worth a hefty £350 million a year -

0:25:26 > 0:25:28nearly triple its value only five years earlier.

0:25:30 > 0:25:34And supermarket shelves bulged with new, low calorie goods,

0:25:34 > 0:25:37as the food industry saw profit in the growing waistlines

0:25:37 > 0:25:39some of its own products had helped to create.

0:25:40 > 0:25:42Very tart.

0:25:42 > 0:25:44I'm not allowed to put sugar on it, am I?

0:25:44 > 0:25:45No, that's not the diet.

0:25:45 > 0:25:49And the...oh, gosh.

0:25:49 > 0:25:50I actually think...

0:25:50 > 0:25:53It makes your ears tingle.

0:25:53 > 0:25:55- I think you better go to the doctor. - LAUGHTER

0:25:55 > 0:25:57What do we get in ours, Mum?

0:25:58 > 0:26:01Well, we get a lot of fibre.

0:26:01 > 0:26:05The portions may be smaller, but you are full.

0:26:05 > 0:26:07You don't feel as hungry.

0:26:07 > 0:26:10If it's brown...it'll go down!

0:26:10 > 0:26:13Do you mind? I'm trying to finish my breakfast.

0:26:13 > 0:26:15But I seem to remember somebody -

0:26:15 > 0:26:18a journalist back in the '80s - writing about the F-Plan diet.

0:26:18 > 0:26:21I think it might have been Anne Robinson, and she said that every...

0:26:21 > 0:26:22- From The Weakest Link?- Yeah.

0:26:22 > 0:26:24And she said every copy of the F-Plan diet

0:26:24 > 0:26:27should come with a can of air freshener.

0:26:27 > 0:26:29HE CHUCKLES

0:26:30 > 0:26:33MUSIC: Physical by Olivia Newton-John

0:26:33 > 0:26:36To work up an appetite for their next delicious diet meal,

0:26:36 > 0:26:40the Robshaws are getting physical in classic early '80s style...

0:26:42 > 0:26:46..when a pair of velour shorts was more essential than a crash helmet.

0:26:48 > 0:26:50And music on the move was a novelty.

0:26:50 > 0:26:52I used to think, actually,

0:26:52 > 0:26:55that joggers running along with their headphones in

0:26:55 > 0:26:58were slightly comical figures, really,

0:26:58 > 0:27:01I thought they were figures of fun.

0:27:01 > 0:27:04And now I am one.

0:27:05 > 0:27:07SHE LAUGHS

0:27:07 > 0:27:08# Let's get physical, physical... #

0:27:08 > 0:27:10Aah!

0:27:10 > 0:27:12# I wanna get physical... #

0:27:12 > 0:27:14It's no good. I don't like it!

0:27:16 > 0:27:19It's back to the kitchen for dinner.

0:27:19 > 0:27:22Rochelle's using another '80s gadget to open her baked beans

0:27:22 > 0:27:25for the F-Plan shepherd's pie.

0:27:25 > 0:27:27Yeah. Oh, God, look at that go!

0:27:27 > 0:27:30How do you stop it? Cor, blimey.

0:27:30 > 0:27:32And Brandon's rustling up an omelette.

0:27:32 > 0:27:34You don't need to put milk in an omelette mix.

0:27:34 > 0:27:37- You can't do that.- Why not? - It's not in your diet.

0:27:37 > 0:27:39You can't add - you can't add that to that.

0:27:39 > 0:27:43But I can have as much butter as I like to fry this in.

0:27:43 > 0:27:47So, you won't be overweight, you'll just die of a heart attack.

0:27:47 > 0:27:50Food packaging wasn't required to carry nutritional information,

0:27:50 > 0:27:53so the guidelines of diets like the F-Plan

0:27:53 > 0:27:55were the only advice people got.

0:27:55 > 0:27:59If you look at the label, right, this doesn't say too much, does it?

0:27:59 > 0:28:02So, you would eat that and not know that it's got loads of calories in.

0:28:02 > 0:28:05- That's it.- There's an awful lot more food,

0:28:05 > 0:28:10but there's very little guidance, so people might be a bit confused,

0:28:10 > 0:28:13and that's why they'd overeat

0:28:13 > 0:28:15and they'd have to go on, sort of, extreme diets

0:28:15 > 0:28:17like the grapefruit one.

0:28:17 > 0:28:21It would be 1990 before nutritional labelling on food became mandatory.

0:28:21 > 0:28:25I think this grapefruit plan diet is just a fad.

0:28:25 > 0:28:27I don't really feel it's filling me up.

0:28:27 > 0:28:31- I actually feel I'd like to have a pie and chips now.- Right.

0:28:31 > 0:28:35Yeah, that was... Ugh, the diet was...

0:28:35 > 0:28:37Eurgh!

0:28:37 > 0:28:39I DO need a can of air freshener.

0:28:39 > 0:28:43MUSIC: Let's Hear It For The Boy by Deniece Williams

0:28:43 > 0:28:47Another day, and I'm sending the Robshaws yet more kitchen kit

0:28:47 > 0:28:50from the decade of conspicuous consumption...

0:28:50 > 0:28:53courtesy of 1984's top TV chef.

0:28:55 > 0:28:56- Brandon.- Oh, wow!

0:28:56 > 0:29:00- Are you Ken Hom?- Hi. I certainly am.

0:29:00 > 0:29:03We've got a special guest, we've got Mr Ken Hom.

0:29:03 > 0:29:05Hi, nice to meet you, it's very nice to meet you.

0:29:05 > 0:29:07Hello, how are you?

0:29:07 > 0:29:09You're too young to remember who I am.

0:29:09 > 0:29:11And I see you've brought the wok.

0:29:11 > 0:29:15Oh, I thought I'd give you something for your new kitchen in the '80s.

0:29:15 > 0:29:18Fantastic. Yeah, completely new piece of equipment.

0:29:21 > 0:29:24Ken Hom and his wok introduced TV audiences

0:29:24 > 0:29:25to a whole new style of cooking.

0:29:27 > 0:29:29These types of woks are best used on a gas hob.

0:29:29 > 0:29:31Now, if you have an electric cooker,

0:29:31 > 0:29:34you must use a flat-bottom wok like this.

0:29:34 > 0:29:37I mean, what was it about the 1980s

0:29:37 > 0:29:40that kind of made the British public ready for these new techniques?

0:29:40 > 0:29:45- People were beginning to actually entertain at home.- Yeah.

0:29:45 > 0:29:48And one of the ways of doing that, I guess, showing off,

0:29:48 > 0:29:50is either making an Indian, or Chinese.

0:29:50 > 0:29:51I mean that would really impress them.

0:29:51 > 0:29:54- And your guests would be impressed, wouldn't they?- Oh, they would be!

0:29:54 > 0:29:56MUSIC: Karma Chameleon by Culture Club

0:29:56 > 0:29:58Today, Brandon and Ken are stir-frying chicken

0:29:58 > 0:30:00marinated in soy sauce and ginger.

0:30:00 > 0:30:02We add the steaks that way.

0:30:02 > 0:30:05- That is such a fantastic noise, though!- Yeah.

0:30:05 > 0:30:09But this is why, I think, men really love cooking Chinese.

0:30:09 > 0:30:12- Yeah.- Because there's action.

0:30:12 > 0:30:16- It's instant gratification.- Yes.

0:30:16 > 0:30:19I think when you see how it starts browning immediately...

0:30:19 > 0:30:21You can watch it cook in front of your eyes, can't you, yeah.

0:30:21 > 0:30:22Yes, exactly, yeah.

0:30:22 > 0:30:26We have never cooked a complete Chinese meal in this house.

0:30:26 > 0:30:28We've never cooked it - we've had them as takeaways,

0:30:28 > 0:30:30we've been to restaurants,

0:30:30 > 0:30:32but we have never cooked a Chinese meal here.

0:30:32 > 0:30:35- It's not...- So, this is completely new, it's not a takeaway.

0:30:35 > 0:30:37No, it's not!

0:30:37 > 0:30:39In fact, we've taken away the chef!

0:30:39 > 0:30:41SHE LAUGHS

0:30:41 > 0:30:42You're so funny, Mum(!)

0:30:42 > 0:30:44It smells so nice.

0:30:45 > 0:30:48Looking on this experiment through the decades,

0:30:48 > 0:30:51I think British eating has got progressively more interesting,

0:30:51 > 0:30:53- more ambitious.- Better, I think.

0:30:53 > 0:30:56- And better, and better - simple as that.- Yeah.

0:30:56 > 0:30:57Oh, my goodness.

0:30:57 > 0:31:00- Help yourself to...- Rice. - ..some rice.

0:31:00 > 0:31:04How would you say "bon appetit" in Cantonese?

0:31:04 > 0:31:07You would say "sik fan" - eat, eat rice.

0:31:07 > 0:31:08Absolutely delicious.

0:31:08 > 0:31:10Chinese was the perfect cuisine

0:31:10 > 0:31:13for the show-off amateur chef of the 1980s.

0:31:13 > 0:31:18People started cooking this on Saturday nights for friends,

0:31:18 > 0:31:20which showed that...

0:31:20 > 0:31:26they were hip, and they were able to cross, sort of, cultural boundaries.

0:31:26 > 0:31:29Mm. And you can see how it sort of becomes a hobby,

0:31:29 > 0:31:31something that people just do for pleasure.

0:31:31 > 0:31:34This country has taken to it.

0:31:34 > 0:31:37I mean, Chinese is as British, now, as fish and chips.

0:31:38 > 0:31:43Today I had the fantastic experience of cooking with Ken Hom.

0:31:43 > 0:31:47This kind of cooking - it's really kind of satisfying

0:31:47 > 0:31:50and rewarding, and quite an exciting way to cook.

0:31:50 > 0:31:52You know, all that action and smoke and sizzle.

0:31:52 > 0:31:54MUSIC: The Edge Of Heaven by Wham!

0:31:58 > 0:31:59It's 1985,

0:31:59 > 0:32:02And while some of the country were still struggling economically,

0:32:02 > 0:32:06in the City of London, good times have well and truly arrived.

0:32:10 > 0:32:12'The number of flashy sports cars in the city

0:32:12 > 0:32:15'shows there's a good deal of new wealth around.'

0:32:15 > 0:32:18For those with cash to splash on dining out,

0:32:18 > 0:32:20there was really only one cuisine.

0:32:20 > 0:32:22PHONE RINGS

0:32:22 > 0:32:24Hello?

0:32:24 > 0:32:25Hello, mate, how are you?

0:32:25 > 0:32:28Are you in the mood for a slap-up lunch?

0:32:28 > 0:32:31I'd absolutely love it, yeah. Couldn't ask for anything better.

0:32:31 > 0:32:34I'm currently outside Mosimann's, the inventor of nouvelle cuisine,

0:32:34 > 0:32:37or cuisine naturelle, and a HUGE deal in the '80s.

0:32:37 > 0:32:39Do you have any nice clothes?

0:32:39 > 0:32:42Er, I think I could dig something out, yeah.

0:32:42 > 0:32:44All right, I'll see you later!

0:32:44 > 0:32:45Cheers, Brandon, bye.

0:32:48 > 0:32:50- Well, you heard that was Giles. - Yes, I did.

0:32:50 > 0:32:55He's invited us out for a slap-up meal in a really posh restaurant.

0:32:55 > 0:32:57- GASPS:- My legs have gone all funny!

0:32:57 > 0:33:00We're going up the dark blue end of the Monopoly board.

0:33:01 > 0:33:06The nouvelle cuisine movement revolutionised British fine dining.

0:33:06 > 0:33:10It emphasised its ingredients' delicate colours and flavours

0:33:10 > 0:33:12in beautifully presented but tiny portions.

0:33:12 > 0:33:15A complete contrast to the richly sauced, heavy French cooking

0:33:15 > 0:33:16that had gone before.

0:33:18 > 0:33:22'The Terrace Room at the Dorchester is a foodies' place of pilgrimage.

0:33:22 > 0:33:25'Here, Anton Mosimann has created the menu surprise.

0:33:25 > 0:33:29'The "surprise" being that it'll knock you back about £57.'

0:33:29 > 0:33:32MUSIC: There Must Be An Angel by Eurythmics

0:33:40 > 0:33:43- Well, let's say cheers - to the '80s, then.- Yes.

0:33:43 > 0:33:45The '80s.

0:33:45 > 0:33:46Cheers.

0:33:48 > 0:33:50I'm sorry I couldn't be with you for the whole of it.

0:33:50 > 0:33:52I was really only available for the things

0:33:52 > 0:33:55which involved drinking champagne, Michelin two-star meals.

0:33:55 > 0:33:56THEY LAUGH

0:33:56 > 0:33:57Do I take one, or...?

0:33:57 > 0:34:00- It's the decade of consumption - you take them all.- Do I?!

0:34:00 > 0:34:01And hang the rest of us.

0:34:01 > 0:34:02We can send out for another one.

0:34:02 > 0:34:06I wonder how he gets all that taste in the tiny parcel like that.

0:34:06 > 0:34:07It's absolutely amazing.

0:34:07 > 0:34:09That's the key to nouvelle cuisine -

0:34:09 > 0:34:14lots and lots of flavour in a tiny, tiny, tiny little, tiny portion.

0:34:14 > 0:34:16And that's all you're getting.

0:34:16 > 0:34:18We'll have another glass of champagne and we're off.

0:34:18 > 0:34:21People always had a cheeseburger on the way home in those days.

0:34:23 > 0:34:25Nouvelle cuisine was unaffordable to most,

0:34:25 > 0:34:27but the ingredients it introduced,

0:34:27 > 0:34:29like kiwi fruit, goat's cheese and mange tout

0:34:29 > 0:34:32have trickled down to become supermarket staples.

0:34:32 > 0:34:35And its fiddly presentation is now the norm.

0:34:35 > 0:34:36This sort of plating -

0:34:36 > 0:34:38you wouldn't think, "Eurgh, that's so '80s!"

0:34:38 > 0:34:41- cos that's what we think of as presentation now.- Right.

0:34:41 > 0:34:44And then all these fresh herbs, which they didn't tend to have then.

0:34:44 > 0:34:46I mean, there's the dill and the flat parsley -

0:34:46 > 0:34:48flat parsley was totally new then, we thought it was curly.

0:34:48 > 0:34:50It's healthy and also it's showing off,

0:34:50 > 0:34:52it's the best of both worlds for the '80s.

0:34:52 > 0:34:54So he really did, sort of, change the game, didn't he?

0:34:54 > 0:34:57It's very distinctive, like, each individual vegetable.

0:34:57 > 0:34:59I don't think he's boiled them all together,

0:34:59 > 0:35:01I mean, I think it seems like they've all been...

0:35:01 > 0:35:04- Oh, I think he can afford several pots.- Yes, I think so, yeah.

0:35:04 > 0:35:06It was small because it was prepared

0:35:06 > 0:35:12in this really, very fine, thoughtful way.

0:35:12 > 0:35:15But that wasn't, probably - possibly - of less interest

0:35:15 > 0:35:17to those people who had masses of money to spend on it.

0:35:17 > 0:35:20- The phrase you're grasping for there is "more money than sense"...- Yes.

0:35:20 > 0:35:23..about these people, isn't it? I mean, the food was terrific,

0:35:23 > 0:35:25and the people are there just because it's expensive,

0:35:25 > 0:35:26just so they can show off.

0:35:26 > 0:35:28I'm sitting here feeling no guilt at all,

0:35:28 > 0:35:30but I suspect you two are probably feeling,

0:35:30 > 0:35:31as you tuck into this meal,

0:35:31 > 0:35:34that not everyone is having it so good in 1985.

0:35:34 > 0:35:35Well, I kind of do feel

0:35:35 > 0:35:37I wish everybody could have eaten like this, yeah.

0:35:37 > 0:35:41- Ooh!- Ooh, gosh! Wow! My goodness.

0:35:41 > 0:35:42Blimey.

0:35:42 > 0:35:46While some were dining on the finest of dishes in 1985,

0:35:46 > 0:35:49others were struggling to put food on the table.

0:35:49 > 0:35:51MUSIC: Two Tribes by Frankie Goes To Hollywood

0:35:56 > 0:35:57The only way we'll get unity

0:35:57 > 0:36:00is for people like you not to cross the picket line.

0:36:00 > 0:36:02By 1985, many of Britain's miners had been on strike,

0:36:02 > 0:36:06with no pay or benefits, for nearly a year.

0:36:06 > 0:36:08And for some, things were getting desperate.

0:36:08 > 0:36:10'This is a divided community,

0:36:10 > 0:36:12'scarred by bitterness, envy and acrimony,

0:36:12 > 0:36:15'where neighbour is pitted against neighbour,

0:36:15 > 0:36:17'and even father against son.

0:36:17 > 0:36:21'The reason - some miners have full pay packets and eat well,

0:36:21 > 0:36:23'continue to pay off the mortgage.

0:36:23 > 0:36:26'Other miners have virtually no money.

0:36:26 > 0:36:30'Soup kitchens provide what, for some, is the only meal of the day.'

0:36:30 > 0:36:33I certainly remember seeing it on the news,

0:36:33 > 0:36:36and quite violent demonstrations.

0:36:36 > 0:36:39- Cos when you're hungry, you're angry, aren't you?- Yeah.

0:36:39 > 0:36:43And it just reminds me of when we got to the National Food Survey

0:36:43 > 0:36:44for the 1950s,

0:36:44 > 0:36:49a woman had written in it, "A hungry man is an angry man."

0:36:49 > 0:36:53MUSIC: Money's Too Tight (To Mention) by Simply Red

0:36:53 > 0:36:54Brandon's uncles were miners,

0:36:54 > 0:36:57and he's keen to help Rochelle prepare a dish

0:36:57 > 0:37:00that a miner's wife cooked for her family in 1985.

0:37:03 > 0:37:05'Tattie pot.

0:37:05 > 0:37:09'Potatoes, onions, carrots, corned beef, dumplings.'

0:37:12 > 0:37:16- The word that springs to mind... - Yes.- ..is "humbling".

0:37:16 > 0:37:18Of course, I did - I mean, I did kind of know about it.

0:37:18 > 0:37:21I went on marches and things, I dropped money in the buckets,

0:37:21 > 0:37:25I wore the badges, but I just feel that I didn't really...

0:37:25 > 0:37:27I just let it pass me by, really.

0:37:27 > 0:37:30I was just leading my own, kind of, merry, selfish little life.

0:37:30 > 0:37:32I don't think I paid enough attention to it.

0:37:32 > 0:37:35When I think I actually had an uncle involved in that strike,

0:37:35 > 0:37:38and I don't think I was nearly supportive enough.

0:37:38 > 0:37:40- I want to ask you about these dumplings...- Right.

0:37:40 > 0:37:42..because I have never made dumplings before,

0:37:42 > 0:37:44and it said mix with water,

0:37:44 > 0:37:47and now this seems to be very, kind of, gooey and sloppy.

0:37:47 > 0:37:50So, I don't know, have I put in too much water, or not enough?

0:37:50 > 0:37:53- I think you've put in too much water.- Too much.

0:37:53 > 0:37:55So, I think the only way to remedy that

0:37:55 > 0:37:59- is going to be to add some more suet and some more flour.- Really?

0:37:59 > 0:38:01If you eat this, you won't wake up hungry

0:38:01 > 0:38:05- in the middle of the night, will you? - No, you won't wake up at all!

0:38:05 > 0:38:07THEY CHUCKLE

0:38:09 > 0:38:11Miranda, Ros, Fred.

0:38:15 > 0:38:17These dumplings aren't too bad.

0:38:17 > 0:38:19Did you think they were going to be horrible?

0:38:19 > 0:38:20I feared that they might be.

0:38:20 > 0:38:24This is the kind of food they used to cook during the miner's strike.

0:38:24 > 0:38:27Through rationing at the beginning, in the '50s,

0:38:27 > 0:38:30we ate meals like this -

0:38:30 > 0:38:33and up in Sunderland, all those sort of mining communities,

0:38:33 > 0:38:39had to go back to sort of eating... being clever with what they had.

0:38:39 > 0:38:43It's all kind of, you know, quite...not expensive food,

0:38:43 > 0:38:45but it's very, kind of...fills you up.

0:38:45 > 0:38:48- It is nice.- Mm-hm.- It is nice. - What's it called?

0:38:48 > 0:38:49Tatie pot.

0:38:49 > 0:38:51SHE CHUCKLES

0:38:51 > 0:38:56The 1980s really was a decade of polar opposites.

0:38:56 > 0:38:59You've got people on strike who are really, really hard up,

0:38:59 > 0:39:02and then at the opposite, kind of, end of the spectrum,

0:39:02 > 0:39:05you know, you've got this...

0:39:05 > 0:39:07decade of conspicuous consumption

0:39:07 > 0:39:12where people are just really, really enjoying spending

0:39:12 > 0:39:15their not particularly hard-earned money.

0:39:15 > 0:39:18MUSIC: West End Girls by Pet Shop Boys

0:39:22 > 0:39:23Talking of money,

0:39:23 > 0:39:261986 is the year of the Big Bang,

0:39:26 > 0:39:30and the city is filling up with go-getting, shoulder pad wearing,

0:39:30 > 0:39:32mobile phone toting entrepreneurs

0:39:32 > 0:39:36ready to seize the opportunities presented by financial deregulation.

0:39:36 > 0:39:38# Sometimes you're better off dead... #

0:39:38 > 0:39:39Even women are welcome.

0:39:39 > 0:39:41# You think you're mad, too unstable

0:39:41 > 0:39:43# Kicking in chairs... #

0:39:43 > 0:39:46Today, Miranda's sampling the joys of '80s City life

0:39:46 > 0:39:49in the offices of one of the decades highest financial flyers -

0:39:49 > 0:39:50Nicola Horlick.

0:39:51 > 0:39:52What was the atmosphere?

0:39:52 > 0:39:54Well, it was phenomenally exciting.

0:39:54 > 0:39:58American banks came in and bought up our banks -

0:39:58 > 0:40:00it became much more professional.

0:40:00 > 0:40:04Everything was changing, the pace was incredibly fast,

0:40:04 > 0:40:06and, you know, the Americans have a reputation

0:40:06 > 0:40:08for being hard taskmasters -

0:40:08 > 0:40:11things like the boozy City lunch went out of the window.

0:40:11 > 0:40:13The consequence of people not going out for boozy lunches

0:40:13 > 0:40:16was that they were eating sandwiches at their desks.

0:40:16 > 0:40:18MUSIC: Addicted To Love by Robert Palmer

0:40:20 > 0:40:22Luckily, by 1986 there were 25 varieties

0:40:22 > 0:40:24of sandwich filling to choose from.

0:40:30 > 0:40:32With the lunch break fast disappearing,

0:40:32 > 0:40:35City restaurants were struggling.

0:40:35 > 0:40:37Many reinvented themselves as wine bars,

0:40:37 > 0:40:40and a new generation of bankers lapped them up.

0:40:40 > 0:40:44'The champagne lifestyle is possible at an earlier age in the City

0:40:44 > 0:40:46'than anywhere else.'

0:40:46 > 0:40:50I've asked Miranda and Nicola to join me and my friend, Ben,

0:40:50 > 0:40:51a trader in 1986,

0:40:51 > 0:40:55for an evening at one of the City's original wine bars.

0:40:55 > 0:40:58Was champagne the thing that you drank in the City?

0:40:58 > 0:41:02If you had something to celebrate - but there was a lot to celebrate.

0:41:02 > 0:41:06I remember when Ben went into the City,

0:41:06 > 0:41:09and then Ben just had all this cash and champagne,

0:41:09 > 0:41:11I thought he was a bit flash.

0:41:11 > 0:41:12That was the idea.

0:41:12 > 0:41:16Money was a way of saying, "Look, I'm really good at my job."

0:41:16 > 0:41:18It was a kind of status symbol.

0:41:18 > 0:41:21'Fine champagnes and wines were the ultimate in aspirational drinking.'

0:41:21 > 0:41:23- Cheers, anyway.- Cheers.

0:41:23 > 0:41:24- Yeah, cheers.- To the '80s...

0:41:24 > 0:41:27'But teetotallers weren't left out.'

0:41:27 > 0:41:29How come I've got sparkling water?

0:41:29 > 0:41:31You can't have this, cos you're only 17.

0:41:31 > 0:41:35And that is also a celebratory, emblematic 1980s drink.

0:41:35 > 0:41:38Perrier was quite a big status symbol -

0:41:38 > 0:41:39everything had to be, you know,

0:41:39 > 0:41:41flashy and fizzy and bubbly and sparkling.

0:41:41 > 0:41:44I don't think we actually had Perrier in the meeting rooms

0:41:44 > 0:41:46at that point - we just had water.

0:41:46 > 0:41:48What, cos it was, like, so special?

0:41:48 > 0:41:49Well, it was so special.

0:41:49 > 0:41:52If you'd gone back to your 1950s and '60s versions of yourselves

0:41:52 > 0:41:55in the house and said, "Yeah, we're up in the '80s,

0:41:55 > 0:41:58- "it's great. We're buying water..." - SHE LAUGHS

0:41:58 > 0:42:00..they'd have thought you were mad.

0:42:00 > 0:42:01MUSIC: I Want To Break Free by Queen

0:42:01 > 0:42:03Fancy wines and bottled water

0:42:03 > 0:42:05may have started out being enjoyed by the wealthy few,

0:42:05 > 0:42:08but their influence quickly flowed into all our homes.

0:42:10 > 0:42:13They're very fiddly, aren't they, these wine boxes?

0:42:13 > 0:42:14It's very hard to get it out.

0:42:14 > 0:42:18Oh, you can tear it up a bit there.

0:42:18 > 0:42:22Agh! It's like a sort of breech birth, isn't it?

0:42:23 > 0:42:24Agh!

0:42:27 > 0:42:29Thank God you're not a midwife.

0:42:29 > 0:42:30THEY LAUGH

0:42:31 > 0:42:33Look at that. Cheers.

0:42:33 > 0:42:35Thanks very much, cheers.

0:42:38 > 0:42:40- There's Jilly.- Ooh, Jilly!

0:42:40 > 0:42:41Oh, yeah.

0:42:41 > 0:42:43Jill Goolden.

0:42:43 > 0:42:44MUSIC: Take On Me by A-ha

0:42:44 > 0:42:47I used to really like the way she described the tastes of drinks.

0:42:47 > 0:42:49"This tastes like a summer breeze

0:42:49 > 0:42:52"blowing through a field of golden corn," that kind of thing.

0:42:52 > 0:42:56Bit of wood, bit of tobacco, pencil sharpenings - the works.

0:42:56 > 0:42:58It's absolutely terrific.

0:42:58 > 0:43:01Wine drinking was viewed as upwardly mobile.

0:43:01 > 0:43:04And TV helped demystify it for an aspirational public.

0:43:06 > 0:43:08And between 1980 and 1987,

0:43:08 > 0:43:12Britain's wine consumption rose by 50%.

0:43:12 > 0:43:15It suddenly became accessible just to drink a glass of wine.

0:43:15 > 0:43:17- Yeah.- Cos we kind of got used to having it...

0:43:17 > 0:43:18We got used to not doing that.

0:43:18 > 0:43:20- ..with food, haven't we?- Yeah.

0:43:20 > 0:43:22- And not just sort of necking it. - Yeah.

0:43:25 > 0:43:27Just sit down at night on the sofa, with a glass of wine,

0:43:27 > 0:43:29and watching the telly,

0:43:29 > 0:43:34just seems, you know, a kind of very self-indulgent sort of luxury

0:43:34 > 0:43:37which is now freely available in the '80s,

0:43:37 > 0:43:40and would have seemed very strange and, kind of, a little bit wrong,

0:43:40 > 0:43:42I think, in previous decades.

0:43:42 > 0:43:45MUSIC: Axel F by Harold Faltermeyer

0:43:45 > 0:43:46It's 1987,

0:43:46 > 0:43:48and the Robshaws are off to the supermarket

0:43:48 > 0:43:50to meet food historian Polly Russell

0:43:50 > 0:43:53to discover how a transformation in food packaging over the decade

0:43:53 > 0:43:56revolutionised what was available on the shelves.

0:44:00 > 0:44:03The thing about food packaging is, it seems rather boring,

0:44:03 > 0:44:07it seems rather everyday, but actually it is the unsung hero

0:44:07 > 0:44:11of food processing and food change in this period,

0:44:11 > 0:44:14and without it, many of the foods we enjoy today

0:44:14 > 0:44:16would simply not be possible.

0:44:16 > 0:44:18MUSIC: Chain Reaction by Diana Ross

0:44:18 > 0:44:22One of the biggest innovations is found in the drinks aisle.

0:44:22 > 0:44:25Are you surprised to see fizzy, soft drinks on the list for the 1980s?

0:44:25 > 0:44:27Well, I'm surprised in the sense

0:44:27 > 0:44:31that my mum wouldn't normally let us have coke.

0:44:31 > 0:44:33The plastic packaging is new.

0:44:33 > 0:44:35In fact...

0:44:35 > 0:44:40we haven't really seen anything in, like, drinks in bottles, really.

0:44:40 > 0:44:43The plastic bottle is called a PET piece of packaging,

0:44:43 > 0:44:48it's only developed in the 1980s and this is what makes this possible,

0:44:48 > 0:44:51this huge new explosion of drinking soft drinks.

0:44:53 > 0:44:55Lighter than glass and virtually unbreakable,

0:44:55 > 0:44:58PET helped put more fizzy drinks on supermarket shelves,

0:44:58 > 0:45:00and sales more than doubled over the decade.

0:45:03 > 0:45:06In 1987, another food technology breakthrough

0:45:06 > 0:45:10gave birth to the ultimate fast food - the microwaveable ready meal.

0:45:10 > 0:45:14So, in this sort of box is a sort of revolution, really,

0:45:14 > 0:45:16in food processing and food technology,

0:45:16 > 0:45:20because for the first time you can buy a completely made meal...

0:45:20 > 0:45:24- Yeah.- ..and it can be yours to eat in a matter of three, four minutes.

0:45:24 > 0:45:26So, why is it now, in the mid to late '80s,

0:45:26 > 0:45:29that these ready meals are coming in?

0:45:29 > 0:45:31You have to have your cold chain -

0:45:31 > 0:45:35so, you have to have your refrigeration from manufacture,

0:45:35 > 0:45:38your supermarket and, of course, at home.

0:45:38 > 0:45:40Unlike frozen food,

0:45:40 > 0:45:42which can be sort of held at any temperature

0:45:42 > 0:45:44below a certain temperature,

0:45:44 > 0:45:47this has to be held within quite narrow margins.

0:45:48 > 0:45:49Cooked at the factory,

0:45:49 > 0:45:52chilled ready meals need to be held at between one and four degrees

0:45:52 > 0:45:55to avoid the risk of food poising.

0:45:55 > 0:45:59A technological leap that only became possible in the 1980s.

0:45:59 > 0:46:00Cheeky little lasagne!

0:46:00 > 0:46:03And, of course, it emphasises the speed - five minutes,

0:46:03 > 0:46:05five minutes, five minutes.

0:46:05 > 0:46:06In market research at the time,

0:46:06 > 0:46:10people put convenience way ahead of price,

0:46:10 > 0:46:13nutritional value, and even taste.

0:46:13 > 0:46:15So, you have the packaging developed in the late '80s

0:46:15 > 0:46:20which allows this to be microwaveable OR oven-able.

0:46:20 > 0:46:21So, it's like the microwave

0:46:21 > 0:46:24has actually kind of found its moment now.

0:46:26 > 0:46:28Choose one of those.

0:46:28 > 0:46:32Well, I think I'll just go with chicken curry.

0:46:32 > 0:46:34We close the door, we press time... MICROWAVE BEEPS

0:46:34 > 0:46:37But what it means is that we can all eat something different.

0:46:37 > 0:46:39Yeah. And it's easy to eat something different -

0:46:39 > 0:46:42- you don't have to cook loads of different things.- No, that's right.

0:46:42 > 0:46:43- I feel a bit sad.- Why?

0:46:43 > 0:46:46Cos, like, everyone's eating something different

0:46:46 > 0:46:47and we're no longer eating together.

0:46:47 > 0:46:50We can't all sit round here with these little packet things.

0:46:50 > 0:46:52No, we're also - we're all eating at different times

0:46:52 > 0:46:54because we can't put them all in at once.

0:46:54 > 0:46:56Oh, Fred! Right.

0:46:56 > 0:46:58- Can I eat now?- Yes, eat, just eat.

0:46:58 > 0:47:01But, look, I'll tell you what's good. Watch this.

0:47:01 > 0:47:04No washing up, how's that?

0:47:04 > 0:47:06Well, you would if you had a plate, wouldn't you?

0:47:06 > 0:47:11You've just put a lot of plastic and stuff in the bin.

0:47:11 > 0:47:13- Yeah.- Which isn't really good.

0:47:13 > 0:47:17It's pretty much the first time anything's made to be disposable.

0:47:17 > 0:47:20- Kind of, almost.- But that's not actually a good thing.

0:47:20 > 0:47:23- FRED:- I'm going to go and play Nintendo.

0:47:23 > 0:47:26Throughout this experiment we have all eaten together.

0:47:26 > 0:47:29This is the first evening, the very first evening,

0:47:29 > 0:47:32when everybody is eating differently.

0:47:32 > 0:47:34You're standing up, they're sitting over there,

0:47:34 > 0:47:36Fred's in the other room.

0:47:36 > 0:47:38But you do gain in convenience.

0:47:38 > 0:47:40- It's quite nice... - But what is the convenience?

0:47:40 > 0:47:44We're all sort of dispersed - dispersed and displaced.

0:47:44 > 0:47:47And the microwave is doing it.

0:47:48 > 0:47:52Coming home and then sort of feeding that to the family,

0:47:52 > 0:47:55I felt, was kind of soulless.

0:47:55 > 0:48:02This was, in some ways, my least favourite meal of the experiment.

0:48:02 > 0:48:07It just felt completely sterile.

0:48:10 > 0:48:12MUSIC: The Only Way Is Up by Yazz

0:48:14 > 0:48:17It's five weeks since the Robshaws began their time travelling.

0:48:17 > 0:48:20Tonight, Brandon and Rochelle are taking inspiration

0:48:20 > 0:48:22from the excesses of the '80s and wowing her boss

0:48:22 > 0:48:26with a complex nouvelle cuisine-inspired dinner party.

0:48:26 > 0:48:29Oh, my goodness me.

0:48:29 > 0:48:31Goat's cheese and spinach tart

0:48:31 > 0:48:35- accompanied by a green salad with raspberry coulis.- Ooh!

0:48:35 > 0:48:37- I say!- Oh, my goodness, though, it's not dessert,

0:48:37 > 0:48:40- that's actually... - That's part of the...

0:48:40 > 0:48:41..the goat's cheese is... Oh!

0:48:43 > 0:48:45Oh, Brandon, this is going to be really bad,

0:48:45 > 0:48:48because we're going to sort of be annoying each other, aren't we?

0:48:48 > 0:48:51I think we need to take different, sort of, different...

0:48:51 > 0:48:54- We should each have a different station, shouldn't we?- Yeah, yeah.

0:48:54 > 0:48:56I'll go to Walthamstow Central!

0:48:56 > 0:48:59- Get on the train. - I'll go to Liverpool Street!

0:49:00 > 0:49:02The menu includes many ingredients

0:49:02 > 0:49:04which are widely available for the first time.

0:49:06 > 0:49:09For the main course they're poaching a whole Scottish salmon,

0:49:09 > 0:49:12now affordable because of a step-up in salmon farming.

0:49:12 > 0:49:15This is served with a trio of vegetables

0:49:15 > 0:49:16pureed in their new Magimix -

0:49:16 > 0:49:19a must-have for the aspirational home chef.

0:49:19 > 0:49:23Suddenly there's a new type of food, isn't there?

0:49:23 > 0:49:27There's a new way of eating and preparing food, isn't it?

0:49:27 > 0:49:29Thinking about the dinner we had at Mosimann's,

0:49:29 > 0:49:33the whole thing was designed to be impressive.

0:49:33 > 0:49:36And I supposed we're kind of trying to do that in the home

0:49:36 > 0:49:38- a bit, aren't we?- Yeah.

0:49:38 > 0:49:41To show off - not just that we can afford it,

0:49:41 > 0:49:43but that we've got the knowledge and the expertise

0:49:43 > 0:49:45to be able to do this kind of food.

0:49:45 > 0:49:47Yes. It's a bit show-offy.

0:49:47 > 0:49:50And, in the decade of speed,

0:49:50 > 0:49:52ostentatious dishes showed the hosts had used

0:49:52 > 0:49:55the most precious '80s commodity to make their meal.

0:49:55 > 0:49:56Time.

0:49:58 > 0:50:01It's just so fiddly. It's maddening.

0:50:01 > 0:50:05I mean, also, does this even look like fish scales,

0:50:05 > 0:50:09or does it look like somebody's put a load of cucumber on a fish?

0:50:11 > 0:50:14While Rochelle and Brandon discover the joys of nouvelle cuisine,

0:50:14 > 0:50:17the children are embracing new trends of their own.

0:50:17 > 0:50:19Oh...

0:50:19 > 0:50:21It's my go now. So give me the controller.

0:50:21 > 0:50:23- Fred!- Wait until I die.- Stop it!

0:50:23 > 0:50:26- Right, I'm not playing with you. - All right.

0:50:26 > 0:50:28- You're greedy.- I'm not greedy. - You're greedy and selfish,

0:50:28 > 0:50:30and as soon as a piece of technology comes here

0:50:30 > 0:50:32you're into a different person.

0:50:32 > 0:50:34Mario is amazing.

0:50:34 > 0:50:37But I do notice that we're not going outside as much any more.

0:50:37 > 0:50:41Hi, kids - look, you know we've got some guests coming round tonight,

0:50:41 > 0:50:42Mum's work colleagues,

0:50:42 > 0:50:45so is it all right if you lot go out while they're here?

0:50:45 > 0:50:46Enjoy yourselves.

0:50:46 > 0:50:50MUSIC: Perfect by Fairground Attraction

0:50:50 > 0:50:54Getting a small bowl and piling as much as you could.

0:50:54 > 0:50:58While her guests reminisce about the joy of the all-you-can-eat buffet,

0:50:58 > 0:51:01Rochelle's plating up her show-off starter.

0:51:01 > 0:51:05Oh, God. Oh, bugger, bugger.

0:51:05 > 0:51:08It's not quite cooked on the pastry bit,

0:51:08 > 0:51:12so this will be nouvelle portions.

0:51:12 > 0:51:14SHE LAUGHS

0:51:14 > 0:51:15How could I have done this?

0:51:17 > 0:51:19That's just horrible.

0:51:20 > 0:51:23- Thank you.- Oh that looks very nouvelle, doesn't it?

0:51:23 > 0:51:27Thank you, it really does. Lovely, thank you.

0:51:28 > 0:51:30So, goat's cheese and...yeah.

0:51:30 > 0:51:32Goat's cheese and spinach tart, yeah.

0:51:32 > 0:51:36Goat's cheese had reached, you know, the kind of - the normal household.

0:51:36 > 0:51:37And that does ring bells.

0:51:37 > 0:51:40- Alarm bells!- Alarm bells. - LAUGHTER

0:51:42 > 0:51:44I thought it was a very nice starter, myself,

0:51:44 > 0:51:47but they didn't actually say, "Oh, wow, that was delicious,"

0:51:47 > 0:51:50- did they?- No. What did you think of the presentation?

0:51:50 > 0:51:52Beautiful. Absolutely a picture.

0:51:52 > 0:51:55- What did you think of the, um...? - I'd put that in the Tate gallery.

0:51:55 > 0:51:59- You don't have to take the piss! But...- I'm not!

0:51:59 > 0:52:01They looked really pretty.

0:52:01 > 0:52:03Right, let's go and show them this, then.

0:52:05 > 0:52:07Wow, amazing.

0:52:07 > 0:52:09It's really, really impressive.

0:52:09 > 0:52:12- It was a bit like doing a jigsaw. - Yes!

0:52:12 > 0:52:14MUSIC: Oh Yeah by Yello

0:52:15 > 0:52:18Impressing their guests means Rochelle and Brandon are too busy

0:52:18 > 0:52:22to keep an eye on what the kids are scoffing when they're not looking.

0:52:25 > 0:52:27Chains like Burger King and McDonald's

0:52:27 > 0:52:29had arrived in the mid '70s,

0:52:29 > 0:52:33but it was in the '80s that Britain became a fast food nation.

0:52:33 > 0:52:36McDonald's ended the decade with over 400 branches.

0:52:38 > 0:52:40With burgers costing less than £1.20,

0:52:40 > 0:52:43the meals were dished up at pocket money prices,

0:52:43 > 0:52:45and fast food chains became a popular after school hangout

0:52:45 > 0:52:47for a whole generation.

0:52:49 > 0:52:51I hadn't missed it until I ate it, if that makes sense.

0:52:51 > 0:52:52- Yeah, same.- Yeah, definitely.

0:52:52 > 0:52:55It is nice that you can, I don't know, just like nip out

0:52:55 > 0:52:56and get some - whatever you want, now.

0:52:56 > 0:52:58- Yeah.- Yeah...

0:52:58 > 0:53:02But I almost, like, prefer the '50s more,

0:53:02 > 0:53:05because now I can just get sweets whenever I want.

0:53:05 > 0:53:08In the '50s I was getting excited when I got a packet of sweets,

0:53:08 > 0:53:12so it's, like, all changed now.

0:53:12 > 0:53:14The food and lifestyle of the '80s

0:53:14 > 0:53:17led to childhood obesity rates doubling over the decade.

0:53:19 > 0:53:21- Creme brulee? No... - It is, you're right.

0:53:21 > 0:53:24It is creme brulee! Oh, my goodness, wow.

0:53:24 > 0:53:26Very impressive.

0:53:27 > 0:53:29I can start to smell that caramelised sugar now.

0:53:29 > 0:53:32- That's lovely. - Well, you're doing something right -

0:53:32 > 0:53:33it smells incredible.

0:53:34 > 0:53:35What a gadget.

0:53:37 > 0:53:39Dig in, everybody.

0:53:39 > 0:53:42So, if this was the '80s, and you'd come round to dinner

0:53:42 > 0:53:44and we'd served you this up,

0:53:44 > 0:53:47would you think, "Wow, Rochelle,

0:53:47 > 0:53:50"we've got to find her an important role in our organisation

0:53:50 > 0:53:51"as quickly as possible?"

0:53:53 > 0:53:54Well, no.

0:53:54 > 0:53:56LAUGHTER

0:53:58 > 0:53:59Why not?!

0:54:01 > 0:54:03MUSIC: Walls Come Tumbling Down by Style Council

0:54:06 > 0:54:08'But tonight, there were no filters, no checks.

0:54:08 > 0:54:10'At midnight the border was thrown open,

0:54:10 > 0:54:14'and the crowd surged through the open gates.'

0:54:14 > 0:54:16Oh, Berlin Wall!

0:54:16 > 0:54:19It's fantastic to see these pictures, isn't it?

0:54:19 > 0:54:21It was a real, kind of,

0:54:21 > 0:54:24great, optimistic way to end the decade of the '80s, wasn't it?

0:54:24 > 0:54:26I got a bit of the wall.

0:54:26 > 0:54:28It was that bit there.

0:54:28 > 0:54:29LAUGHTER

0:54:31 > 0:54:33The decade's winding up -

0:54:33 > 0:54:36but there's just time for one final surprise.

0:54:37 > 0:54:39- Hello, Giles.- Hi, there.

0:54:39 > 0:54:41- Nice to see you.- Hello, chaps.

0:54:41 > 0:54:42- Come perch up here.- Oh, really?

0:54:42 > 0:54:44We've got a good place for you to perch, there, yeah.

0:54:44 > 0:54:46- You couldn't have shuffled up a little bit?- No.

0:54:46 > 0:54:50- Typical, selfish '80s behaviour. - THEY LAUGH

0:54:50 > 0:54:51How's the '80s been?

0:54:51 > 0:54:53It's been very eventful and very enjoyable.

0:54:53 > 0:54:55The Wall's come down, so I think that's...

0:54:55 > 0:54:56- Oh, the Berlin Wall.- Yeah.

0:54:56 > 0:54:58What better way could there possibly be to celebrate

0:54:58 > 0:55:01the end of Communism than a pizza delivery?

0:55:01 > 0:55:02- Yay!- Oh, yes! Get in.

0:55:02 > 0:55:04That's an exciting thing, isn't it?

0:55:04 > 0:55:07Is this the first food you've had delivered, then,

0:55:07 > 0:55:08in your journey through the ages?

0:55:08 > 0:55:11Yes, it is. We've had takeaway before, we've had fish and chips,

0:55:11 > 0:55:13but we had to go and get that ourselves.

0:55:13 > 0:55:15Oh, how incredibly '70s and backwards.

0:55:15 > 0:55:18THEY LAUGH

0:55:18 > 0:55:20Pizza Hut and Domino's started home deliveries

0:55:20 > 0:55:22as the decade drew to a close.

0:55:22 > 0:55:26This was the perfect incarnation of the '80s love of speed and choice.

0:55:26 > 0:55:28Hey, thanks, Danny!

0:55:28 > 0:55:31Hey, what do you think this is, a takeaway service?!

0:55:31 > 0:55:33Pick up the phone and you've got it made.

0:55:33 > 0:55:36- Cheers.- Cheers.- Cheers, everybody.

0:55:36 > 0:55:38How was the '80s for you?

0:55:38 > 0:55:40It's been sort of quite an exciting time,

0:55:40 > 0:55:44but sort of working full time now, I find it pretty hard going.

0:55:44 > 0:55:48It's a great pity not to have as much family time.

0:55:48 > 0:55:51Has there, to any extent - the new convenience foods of the '80s,

0:55:51 > 0:55:53made it possible?

0:55:53 > 0:55:56Yeah, we've had a number of ready meals - pierce the film,

0:55:56 > 0:55:59pop them in the microwave, all done in sort of five minutes.

0:55:59 > 0:56:00So that's been a complete change.

0:56:00 > 0:56:02So, the family are all in here,

0:56:02 > 0:56:05but the real hands-on cooking isn't, so, have you lost anything?

0:56:05 > 0:56:06It has become a bit, sort of, atomised.

0:56:06 > 0:56:09People wander into the kitchen and get what they want,

0:56:09 > 0:56:10and wander out again.

0:56:10 > 0:56:12On the plus side, I quite like the fact

0:56:12 > 0:56:13that the kids can get in the kitchen,

0:56:13 > 0:56:15and on occasion they fix things for themselves.

0:56:15 > 0:56:18So there was generally more independence, more freewill,

0:56:18 > 0:56:20which is how we're led to remember the '80s.

0:56:20 > 0:56:21I think it's like a sort of revolution

0:56:21 > 0:56:24that's been gathering pace in the '60s and then in the '70s,

0:56:24 > 0:56:27and it really hits its stride in the '80s.

0:56:27 > 0:56:29MUSIC: Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley

0:56:29 > 0:56:31I come with pizza!

0:56:31 > 0:56:34- Whoa!- My word.- That's your one.

0:56:34 > 0:56:36Ooh, they are thick, these slices, aren't they?

0:56:36 > 0:56:38Wow!

0:56:38 > 0:56:39I must say, I am enjoying this pizza.

0:56:39 > 0:56:41I think it's a fitting culmination to the '80s.

0:56:41 > 0:56:44- I'm just going to have another slice.- Fast work.

0:56:44 > 0:56:45Yeah.

0:56:45 > 0:56:47- ROS:- I can see why people would have eaten more

0:56:47 > 0:56:49takeaway food in the '80s.

0:56:49 > 0:56:51I think it would have been pretty cool

0:56:51 > 0:56:53to have food that wasn't made by you or your family.

0:56:53 > 0:56:56But it's not exactly the healthiest of foods.

0:56:56 > 0:56:59Do you think there's a danger with all of this here,

0:56:59 > 0:57:00there's going to be an obesity crisis,

0:57:00 > 0:57:02you're going to eat more than you need?

0:57:02 > 0:57:04I feel that as long as this stuff is in front of me,

0:57:04 > 0:57:06I probably will keep eating.

0:57:06 > 0:57:09MUSIC: Hand On Your Heart by Kylie Minogue

0:57:09 > 0:57:11Well, that seems a suitable ending to the decade -

0:57:11 > 0:57:13I've left them sitting in front of a screen,

0:57:13 > 0:57:16eating processed food out of cardboard boxes in their laps,

0:57:16 > 0:57:17not talking to each other.

0:57:17 > 0:57:19Which basically tells you all you need to know

0:57:19 > 0:57:20about what happened in the '80s.

0:57:20 > 0:57:22I think they're beginning to get a sense

0:57:22 > 0:57:24of all the things they've lost.

0:57:25 > 0:57:28I do like the independence of being able to choose

0:57:28 > 0:57:30what you eat and when,

0:57:30 > 0:57:34but I guess we do miss the family mealtimes.

0:57:35 > 0:57:39I think there is a bit less love going into everyday food,

0:57:39 > 0:57:42and that's, perhaps, one of the regrettable changes.

0:57:42 > 0:57:44As somebody who's out at work full time,

0:57:44 > 0:57:49I can sort of see that my power to control what they are eating

0:57:49 > 0:57:51at home has now gone.

0:57:51 > 0:57:55The gadgets and the convenience food

0:57:55 > 0:58:00has helped me on my route to, sort of, liberation,

0:58:00 > 0:58:04and, I suppose, sometimes liberation comes at a cost.